Archived News:

Thursday, Apr 11, 2013

Gamieon announces that Hyperspace Pinball for Windows and OS X is being
offered as a free download on
Desura between now
and April 22nd. Here's word on how this combines an arcade shooter with a
pinball machine:

Hyperspace Pinball combines the controls of pinball with
the game play of an arcade shooter wrapped up in a universe of aliens,
explosions and more! Travel through the solar system flipping shots while
earning bonuses, power-ups, enhancements and achievements like a pinball wizard!
Fight your way through bosses and special enemies like anti-balls, spinners and
shooters on your way to planet Earth for the final showdown! If you're good
enough, you can even compete for the top score against other players; even on
other platforms! Do you have what it takes to save the galaxy? Find out with
Hyperspace Pinball!

This Steam Forum post outlines how developer 3 Sprockets is dealing with
unhappiness at how the game was marketed showing gameplay that could only be
enabled through in-game purchases, saying they will make all the themes and
skins shown in their prerelease screenshots and trailer free:

All skins and themes that we use in our store page
screenshots and trailer will be permanently free within the game.

For the duration of our launch week sale on Steam,
all new and existing Cubemen 2 customers have a "GET FREE GIFT" button in
their Customisation menu where they can claim ALL of our current skins and
themes for free.

This button will disappear for everyone next week, so update and click it
soon!

We will be fully refunding every customer that
bought any of our in game purchases since we launched. We will be processing
these over the next few days, and we appreciate you patience while we work
through the rather long list.

Ubisoft announces they have acquired the remaining stake in Related Designs, the
German studio that has developed many games in Anno series. Ubisoft acquired a
30% stake in the developer in 2007 as
part of the purchase of the Anno franchise, and apparently liked it enough to
put a ring on it, so to speak. Here's word:

SAN FRANCISCO — April 11, 2013
— Today, Ubisoft announced the acquisition of Related Designs, a leading German
development studio for PC strategy games, including the critically-acclaimed
AnnoTM franchise. Ubisoft previously owned 29.95 percent of the company and is
acquiring the remaining 70.05 percent in a cash transaction.

Established in 1995, Related Designs is a highly accomplished studio known for
creating the award-winning PC titles Anno 1701TM, Anno 1404TM, Anno 2070® as
well as real-time strategy games such as No Man´s Land and Castle Strike. As
part of Ubisoft, Related Designs’ experienced 65-person staff will continue
development of the browser-based free-to-play MMO game Might & Magic® Heroes®
Online, and will work on future titles in partnership with Blue Byte, a Ubisoft
studio.

“Bringing the talented teams from Related Designs into the fold at Ubisoft is a
mutually beneficial evolution of the relationship that we’ve had with this great
studio for the past six years,” said Odile Limpach, managing director at
Ubisoft’s Blue Byte studio. “This extremely fruitful cooperation can now advance
thanks to the joint teams of Blue Byte and Related Designs more easily sharing
experiences and resources. Together we will continue developing awesome games,
including Might and Magic Heroes Online, which we hope will become a leading
free-to-play title for Ubisoft.”

EA has laid off an unspecified number of employees today, reports
Polygon, saying most heavily impacted was their Montreal-based studio
that focused on mobile games. "EA is sharpening its focus to provide games for
new platforms and mobile," a spokesperson told the site. "In some cases, this
involves reducing team sizes as we evolve into a more efficient organization.
These are difficult decisions to let go of good people who have made important
contributions to EA, and whenever possible we retrain or relocate employees to
new roles. Streamlining our operations will help ensure EA is bringing the best
next-generation games to players around the world."

The AMD Game Blog
has word that AMD's Never Settle Reloaded bundle program now includes Far Cry
3 Blood Dragon, the 1980s homage Michael Biehn vehicle. Word is: "By May 1,
any customer that has ever redeemed a code for our Never Settle Reloaded
promotion is going to receive a FREE GAME KEY for Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon by
email. Or, if you have a Never Settle Reloaded postcard with a code you’ve not
yet redeemed, Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon will be added to the games on the postcard
when you finally register the code." Thanks Ryan.

Codemasters sends along details about multiplayer support in GRID 2 and
how the upcoming racing sequel will utilize their new RaceNet service. Here's
the rundown on how this will all work, since this info isn't present on the
GRID 2 or
RaceNet websites:

GRID 2
Multiplayer Modes
Whether players want to dive into a quick race online or in two-player
split-screen, specialize in their favorite event or become one of the best
cross-discipline racers in the world, GRID 2 offers a multiplayer experience
that revolves around the gamer’s play style and choices. GRID 2’s wide-range of
game modes can be played online with up to 12 players, including custom races
based on player preferences and choosing from pre-defined playlists to jump
straight into the action. Players can modify their cars with upgrades and make
their mark on the grid by customizing their car with a simple yet powerful
livery editor that offers up to 6 billion different combinations. New
anti-griefing technology includes player grouping, so gamers who like to trade
paint will be brought together online while clean racers are more likely to find
similar drivers in their online sessions.

RaceNet
RaceNet, Codemasters’ free online browser-based extension which tracks players’
races, rivals and rewards, launches fully with GRID 2 and is the beating heart
of the game’s multiplayer mode. RaceNet will go far beyond visualizing progress
in-game and will provide players with new objectives, rivals and rewards for
progress. Players can also track community stats, leaderboards and participate
in weekly Global Challenge events. RaceNet can be accessed on a player’s
desktop, tablet or mobile device and will have dedicated apps set to release
around launch. Players can sign up today and get ready for GRID 2’s launch by
visiting www.racenet.com.

The Dishonored
website now offers a
new trailer showing
off gameplay from The Knife of Dunwall add-on that's due next week for
the stealth/action game. Here's word on the add-on:

In The Knife of
Dunwall you take on the role of Daud, the legendary assassin who killed the
Empress, and access his weapons, gadgets, allies and supernatural abilities.
After assassinating the Empress, and forever changing the fate of Dunwall, you
embark on a search for redemption. The Outsider reveals the key to your
atonement, but who—or what—is Delilah? Accompanied by the Whalers, your loyal
band of mercenary assassins, your search will take you through never-before-seen
districts of Dunwall as you face off against new and terrible foes. Employ a
unique arsenal of new weapons and powers that enhance Dishonored’s dynamic
combat, mobility and stealth systems. In the struggle to hang onto the last
shred of your humanity, the choices you make will ultimately determine your
fate.

The Knife of Dunwall is slated for release worldwide on April 16, 2013 for Xbox
360, PS3 and PC for $9.99 (or 800 Microsoft Points). For more information on
Dishonored or The Knife of Dunwall please visit
www.Dishonored.com.

A new trailer shows off
the goodfellas versus deadfellas gameplay in the "Mob of the Dead" mode in the
upcoming Uprising pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Word is:
"Four mobsters find themselves trapped on the notorious Alcatraz Island. They
soon find out though that they are not alone in the prison cell blocks. Chazz
Palminteri, Joe Pantoliano, Michael Madsen, and Ray Liotta star in one of the
most frightening Zombies experiences yet." Continue here to read the full story.

The
PlanetSide 2 Forums have details on a new patch that's now live in
SOE's MMOFPS sequel, describing a bunch of gameplay changes. The initial post is
followed by another adding that: "A certification grant has been done for
players who purchased duplicate weapons on multiple characters." Unfortunately
it seems this process has gone awry, as
a post on reddit has word from disgruntled players that far too many of
these valuable "certs" are being handed out (further detailed
in this thread), and that bugs and "randomness" seem to be behind players
receiving huge cert grants in spite of being unaffected by the bug the giveaways
were intended to redress. There's talk of wanting Sony to undo this, which
may not be practical, but in the least the initial reddit poster suggests: "SOE
should approach anything dealing with certification points with far more caution
in the future, especially giveaways that are tied to station cash transactions."
Thanks fawker.

Danish independent developer Full Control (Space Hulk) announces a
licensing agreement they've entered into with bitComposer Games for a new
multiplatform title in the Jagged Alliance series. Details are pretty
scant for now, here's the full announcement:

Copenhagen, Denmark - April
11th - Danish indie studio Full Control today announced that it has signed a
licensing agreement with bitComposer Games to develop and publish a new
undisclosed multiplatform title in the Jagged Alliance franchise.

“Jagged Alliance fits perfectly into our company strategy and portfolio as the
game to do after we ship Space Hulk. It is one of the 3 games besides X-Com and
Fallout that really defined the entire genre and is part of our DNA”, said
Thomas Hentschel Lund, CEO of Full Control. “We are honored and excited to have
been the confidence given by bitComposer to give the series a fresh new take
whilst staying true to the core mechanics.”

“We have been keeping an eye on Full Control for the last couple of years and
have been suitably impressed with their take on turn-based tactical gaming and
in particular their awesome work in bringing the classic Space Hulk franchise
back to life”, said Wolfgang Duhr, Board of Directors of bitComposer Games, “We
are excited to learn more about their plans for the franchise”.

The
Official PlayStation Magazine website now offers
a trailer showing off
Flashback HD, confirming rumors
from January that a remake of the classic platformer is in the offing. The
trailer says this will be "the sci-fi classic game - reimagined by the original
core team." The clip concludes with a number of logos, none of which refer to
the PC platform in any way, so it's possible the remake is not returning to one
of its original platforms (and we're almost positive it's not returning to the
Amiga). There's a
video interview on Eurogamer talking with writer Simon MacKenzie about the
project, according to their story and a headline on
VG247 the remake is also coming to PCs, though where that tidbit originates
is not mentioned. Continue here to read the full story.

Pre-Purchase and receive the Far Cry 3 - Blood Dragon soundtrack when the game
is released.

The year is 2007 and Earth has been ravaged by a nuclear war which erupted in
the 90s. The east vs. west conflict has raged for generations, and humanity
continues to struggle to progress after a disastrous decade. New paths for peace
must be found, and the US cyborg army may have found a solution: a powerful
bioweapon on a distant island. Your mission is to gather information and figure
out what the hell is going on.

CapCom Unity announces that
Steam is now accepting
preorders for Resident Evil Revelations, noting that this is another of
those escalating incentive deals where more preorders will recursively trigger
greater incentives to preorder. The game is due on May 21st, and the first
reward of an art book and soundtrack is already unlocked. The next tier would
add a free copy of Lost Planet: Extreme Conditions, and the third tier is for a
season pass with four additional DLC packs, though what these will contain is
not revealed at this time.

A new official website is online
for Magrunner Dark Pulse, offering five new screenshots from the upcoming
sci-fi Cthulhu game. Here's word on the game and the site:

Magrunner Dark
Pulse, the action/reflection game developed by 3AM (Frogwares) for PC, Xbox
LIVE® and PlayStation®Network, today celebrates the grand opening of
its official website with 5
exclusive screenshots! Magrunner sends us to the near future, where technology
will confront the Cthulhu Mythos as imagined by the renowned author of fantasy
novels H. P. Lovecraft. The website of the game has also been optimized for
smartphones and touch tablets, allowing players to access all the information
about Magrunner, wherever they are!

The website contains absolutely everything players might want to know about
Magrunner: details on its gameplay, its story, information about the
protagonists, as well as many screenshots. New videos are also inbound, so keep
an eye on the Media section of the website the weeks to come! Players will also
be able to follow the newsfeed of the game in real-time: all the latest news,
the activity surrounding the game on their favorite social networks, as well the
developer's Dev Blog, where
they will release regularly exclusive information.

We had some rain last night and there's more in the forecast for today and
tomorrow, but I'm not going to complain, as there are areas west of here still
getting socked by snowstorms. If those storms avoid us I'll gladly live with
some April showers, as it's finally gotten pretty warm around here. And this
sanguine approach to the rain is in spite of how mother nature ruined my
plans to grill a steak last night. What's worse, after getting rained out (or
rained in, I guess) I decided to broil the steak in the oven, which I had never
tried before, and my inexperience showed, as it came out decidedly medium
well-done, which is a crime against beef. Oh well, live and learn... I'm pretty
confident the next time I try that it will turn out better.